Stranded
by Unoriginality
Summary: Set post-Pandora's Box, the immediate aftermath for three people.


**I. Roy**

Central was gone.

Not all of it. The city had sprawled out far beyond the confines of whatever hole had been hiding under the center part of the city, so there was still plenty there. Including hospitals, which was what Roy was most interested in.

In his arms was cradled the form of Alphonse Elric, Edward's little brother. By some miracle Roy didn't understand, Edward had called his brother back from the dead, human, unlike the homunculus of his mother that they'd shared an office with. And he was severely malnourished and unconscious.

Carefully picking his way through ruins until he got to the edge of the destruction, more than once Roy had to put Alphonse down to move rubble to make it climbable to get out of the hole Central had collapsed into. Alphonse never woke up the entire time, but his breathing assured Roy that he was still alive. God only knew what might be wrong with him, shock perhaps, or worrisome, maybe brain damage. A coma. Something he might not wake up from.

The hospital was reeling when he finally located one. People were shaken and scared by the noise of the collapse, by the rattling of the ground as the central part of their city disappeared under the earth. And people were braced for incoming victims. Strangely, none were surfacing.

Roy knew exactly why none were surfacing. He knew what the Stone was made from, he knew what that faceted jewel had been that Edward pocketed before running away. Edward had made the Stone out of all those innocent people living in Central. Hughes had warned him when Roy started his turnaround to get back to Central. Roy had known being sent to Acheron was a diversion, he'd never intended on getting all the way up there, and a call to Hughes had confirmed that Edward was Up To Something. Hughes was evacuating everyone, which left it up to Roy to get there in time to help Edward before Central became his first innocent victim.

Too late.

The staff flew into a flurry of activity when Roy came in, taking Alphonse from him and hooking him up to IVs, taking vitals, rushing him out of the hall for evaluation. Roy stood back with the admitting nurse, letting the nurses and doctor decide what was best for Alphonse as he started the intake paperwork.

Roy didn't know what to fill out for most of it. He knew nothing of Alphonse, except that he was supposed to be dead, and miraculously wasn't. He had no real relationship to the boy- what was he supposed to put there? "brother's former commanding officer?"- and no idea on medical history. But he did the best he could, explaining to the nurse that Alphonse's brother had left him with Roy, and he knew nothing else.

"Can I use the phone?" he asked after he was done.

"Of course," the nurse said, turning to process the new paperwork.

Roy grabbed the phone from behind the desk and dialed out to the Grumman's summer home just outside of Central where Hughes evacuated everyone to. "Hughes?"

"Thank god, Roy," Hughes's voice came from the other end. "What's happened?"

Roy glanced around, lowering his voice. "The vast majority of Central right smack in the middle is gone."

"Just that part? That's better than Ed led me to expect."

Roy sighed, running a hand over his hair. "Yeah, I know. It's still a mess. There was something underground that the ground collapsed in on after the transmutation."

"What exactly did he ido/i, Roy? He wasn't terribly clear beyond saying he was making the Stone and that he didn't expect Central to be there anymore." Hughes sounded more than a little distracted. "Hang on."

Roy could hear the phone being set down, and Hughes's voice talking to Elysia, then Gracia. Then the phone being picked up again. "Sorry, kids. Anyway, what happened?"

Roy looked around. "I can't say here, too many ears. But there are probably around two hundred thousand people who no longer exist. Edward managed to bring back his brother and I'm at the hospital with him now. He was undernourished and unconscious. Don't know if anything else might be wrong with him. I don't know why he was in that condition."

There was a pause at the other end of the line. "Roy, Ed's brother is dead."

"Not anymore, he's not," Roy said, feeling a large measure of consternation at his wayward child for running away and dumping this mess on his lap. "I don't know how, I don't understand Edward's alchemy. It's miles ahead of anything we have any understanding of now. And he's gone now, so he can't explain it."

"Gone?" Hughes said in surprise. "Where'd he go?"

If only he knew. "I have no fucking clue, Hughes. He handed me his brother, told me to tell him he was dead, and then ran off for parts unknown. If it hadn't been for Alphonse's condition, I would've chased after him, but he didn't give me much choice."

Hughes sighed audibly. "When can we return to clean up?"

"If you want to now, by all means," Roy said. "But there's not much to do right now. I'm going to start directing rescue crews to go in and look for victims, but I highly doubt there will be any. But it'll look good to start looking. You may wish to leave Gracia and Elysia out there, though. We're going to be scrambling for places to put people. There are some administration buildings on the outlying areas of Central, but the bulk of the government is gone now."

"We'll be on the next train in, just tell us what hospital you're at, we'll meet up and go from there," Hughes said. "We'll confiscate whatever we have to to work."

"Good luck with trains, Hughes," Roy said. "Ours got stopped outside of town and I think that's the only reason I'm alive right now. Central Station is gone. Just borrow a couple cars from the general, he'll understand as long as we don't leave them empty on gas."

"Well, whichever," Hughes said dismissively. "We'll be there before the day's out. Go secure what we need."

"Of course, Hughes. See you soon."

With that, Roy hung up, thinking. Where to reach Captain Douglas? She would know more of what was going on, even if Edward hadn't let her in on plans. She was a homunculus, she was there that night she was transmuted, she had to know what had become of Alphonse that he was here in such an awful condition now. She had to know isomething/i more than Roy did that would make this nightmare make sense.

Edward had said she'd be in Rizenbul, but he hadn't been gone more than two days, and Douglas had still been there when he left. It was a three day trip to Rizenbul, which meant, frustratingly, she'd still be en route. And nowhere he could reach her.

Well, hopefully, something would tip her off that she needed to come back sooner, but if not, he'd give her another day, then try to reach the Rockbells in Rizenbul. In the meantime, it was time to check on Alphonse, then start organizing.

**II. Sloth**

Sloth was scared to death.

News had come in at a layover that Central had been severely damaged by some terrorist attack. Edward was still in Central, battling Scar, last she knew, which meant that likely, the attack was from Scar, and Edward was potentially in danger. Trains weren't running back to Central because the station there was gone, so she'd used her military pull to requisition a vehicle and they'd headed back as fast as they could push the car for.

When she got to Central, she was greeted to destruction on a scale she'd never seen. Much of Central had completely collapsed in on the underground city, leaving only the outlying areas of the city intact, and even many of those buildings were rattled and showing noticable signs of wear from the force that would've shaken the whole city.

She knew right away what Edward had done, and it broke her heart.

Immediately, she started checking in at the few military buildings left in town, finding that rescue efforts were being coordinated from the southern administration building, and taking a long trip around the city, she and the Curtises parked outside the building and went in.

Inside, she further bullied her way around until someone told her that it was Colonel Mustang in charge. What in the world? He was sent on assignment to Acheron, what was he doing back here already? He should be somewhere between Central and North City.

"Colonel Mustang?"

Mustang turned and looked at her. "Ah, Captain Douglas. Glad to see you back. I see we both disobeyed Edward's orders." He looked up at Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. "Excuse us a moment, Hughes, we have business to talk about. I'll update you as I'm able." Then Mustang's attention went back to Sloth. "Shall we find a private place to talk? I think we both know together more than we do apart, and the more we know, the better. Besides, I have news you'll be interested in."

Something about that worried her deeply, but she held her composure, following Mustang to a private room not currently being used. She cocked her head at him. "How can I help you, Colonel?"

"Drop it, Juliet," he said abruptly, "unless I'm to call you Trisha."

She froze. "I- Wha- ... Edward told you?"

Mustang nodded. "He did. He asked me to watch out for you and Alphonse. Which is the news I think you'll be interested in. Alphonse is alive, and currently in the General Memorial Hospital a few blocks from here. He's in sensory shock, and currently doped up on enough morphine that's spending most of his recovery time unconcious."

Sloth was quiet, processing this. Her son was alive- alive! And doing well enough, for a boy locked six years in the Gate. He'd recover, he was strong, like Edward.

"And Edward?" She was afraid to ask, but had to anyway.

Mustang sighed, running a hand over his face. "Ran away. Handed me Alphonse and took off for parts unknown. He told me to tell you two that he'd died in the collapse, but I knew neither of you would believe it without a body, so I refused. I don't know where he intended on going." He steadied his gaze at her. "So. Trisha Elric."

She winced. "Unless both boys accept me, I cannot take that name, Colonel," she said. "Juliet will do fine for now. If Alphonse decides that I am not his mother, then Sloth will do."

He looked puzzled at that name, but let it slip by. "What do you know? How is it you're a homunculus but Alphonse seems perfectly human? And I'd ask what Edward did to the city, but I think we both know that he created the Stone. This rescue effort is purely for show, I know there's no bodies to be recovered."

Sighing heavily, Sloth sank down into a seat. "In your research, have you ever encounted a concept called the Gate? My husband in life knew about it, and the boys both know what it is, but I don't think it's widely known otherwise."

When Mustang shook his head, she continued. "It's the regulator of alchemy, of equivalent exchanged. The All. And that is where Alphonse has been the last six years. He was never dead. He was taken as exchange for me, along with Edward's leg. Edward paid his right arm and voice to try to bind Alphonse's soul to a suit of armor and failed. I'm not sure how that exchange worked out."

"How is it that we don't know about this Gate?"

"Because you only really encounter it when the soul is invoked. Soul transmutations, human transmutation, that is when it is invoked." She looked towards the door at a knock.

"Boss?" Lieutenant Havoc poked his head into the room. "We need you out here."

Mustang nodded. "In a minute, Havoc. Tell Hughes to hold the fort for me." When Havoc retreated and closed the door behind him, Roy turned back to Sloth. "Any idea why Edward would choose to sacrifice the city like that?"

She frowned. "Dante and the others."

Mustang raised an eyebrow. "I see I'm behind in the news."

With a wan smile, she nodded. "I'm afraid so, Colonel. Dante is the former leader of the country. Bradley was a homunculus like myself and made by her to rule the country for her."

"What." That was less a question in tone than a flat statement of disbelief.

"You heard me, Colonel. She's been driving the country into wars for the last few centuries to create the Stone so she can use it to switch her soul to a younger body to keep living. Edward had lured her and the other homunculii to the city under Central just before this with the promise of a Stone. If I had to guess, I'd say he wanted to get rid of their threat to the country."

Mustang stared at her for a long moment, then sighed. "Well, he certainly succeeded in that case."

Sloth was grim. "I'm sorry, Colonel. But my son has left an ugly mess for you."

"Yes, he did," Mustang growled in consternation. "Well, I guess the next order of business for you would be to see Alphonse. I'll take you there as soon as I see what Hughes needs."

She nodded and stood, following him out into the command center.

**III. Alphonse**

Alphonse had no idea how much time had passed. He remembered waking up to an unbearable sensation, everything too loud, too bright, too everything for his nerves as they struggled to remember how to function right. He spent most of those first few days on a dose of morphine to dull the pain of sensory shock.

Yes, sensory shock. He remembered hearing a voice say that. Sensory shock. His brain ran over that phrase for awhile as he slowly woke up from the morphine, slowly pulled himself back to reality where his nerves had settled. It was still uncomfortable, but not unbearably so.

Well, it stood to reason, didn't it? He'd spent so much time- how much? -in that Gate. Where there was no feeling, no sensation, just the pounding of his heart and the fleeting glimpses of his brother, trying so hard to get him home.

His brother. Where was he? He called for someone, anyone- "where am I?"

A nurse walked in after a moment. "Good morning, Alphonse. How're you feeling today?"

He stared at her, trying to make his mouth work. "Better," he croaked out, then cleared his throat. "Where's my brother?"

She frowned. "I'll call for the colonel, he's the one that brought you here. Unfortuantely, we have little information on you, so you'll have to forgive us."

The colonel? Who was that? What was going on? He waited not at all patiently as she stepped out back to the nurse's station. A half hour passed while he dozed, sleeping off the last of the morphine.

Eventually, a man in a blue military uniform walked in, followed by a woman who remained mostly hidden behind the man. Enough that he couldn't really see her face or anything, just hints of the pink business suit she wore. "Good morning, Alphonse," the man said. "I'm Colonel Roy Mustang. Your brother asked me to take care of you."

He frowned, trying to place this man that had apparently been trusted by his brother. "Where is he?"

Mustang sighed. "I don't know, Alphonse. He handed you to me and ran off. We're still looking."

Tears threatened. All that time, all that work, and his brother had run away? "Why'd he run? Why?"

Mustang looked downcast. "I don't know that either, Alphonse, but I can guess. But here's not the place to discuss that. There's someone here that you should meet." He glanced behind them, then stepped to the side.

A wordless noise escaped Alphonse's mouth. "Mom? We- it worked? Mom?"

His mother smiled sadly. "Only partly, Alphonse. I'm... not quite human." She stepped over, settling on the edge of his bed, lowering her voice. "Can you accept a soulless construct?"

He blinked. "You're Mom? You're who we made that night? It worked?"

"Edward certainly seemed to think so," she said.

Alphonse wanted to cry. "Mom, where'd Brother go? Why'd he leave us?"

His mother reached out and brushed hair from his face; her hand was chilly, but not uncomfortably so. "I don't know, darling," she said quietly, her eyes wet. "We'll find him, though. He'll come home soon. Are you feeling okay?"

"My brother's not _here_," he said. "I've been better."

She chuckled, voice thick with the threat of tears. "I know, dear. He missed you so much, he was always trying to bring you home. We'll have to smack him when we find him for leaving. But how are you doing? Are you still uncomfortable?"

Alphonse blinked, then made a facial shrug. "Not too bad. I don't need more medicine."

Mom smiled. "Good. I'll stay here with you, then. I think the colonel can take care of rescue efforts without me now."

Mustang made a rude noise. "What'm I supposed to do without an adjutant?" he demanded in good humor.

Mom looked back at him. "I'm sure you'll manage. Don't forget to start the adoption paperwork when you get a chance."

"Adoption?" Alphonse looked between his mother and this strange man who'd entered his life by his brother's request.

"He's going to adopt you," Mom explained. "I'm still legally dead and your father is still missing. Edward requested that Roy take care of you, and we agreed that this is the best way to do it. Now, if Maes and I could just convince him to get married..." She flashed Roy an impish grin.

Roy rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mother, right away, Mother. I'll have you around to help with him, and Riza wouldn't know what to do with him, so how would me getting married help with this case?"

"It'd keep your girlfriend from being jealous that I'm living with you," Mom pointed out.

Roy frowned in consternation. "Yes, I suppose there is that. Damn."

"You act like marriage is some horrible institution."

Alphonse looked between them in confusion. "Who's Riza?"

Roy looked at him, a distant look on his face. "My former adjutant and current girlfriend. She... something happened to her while she was traveling with Edward and she was discharged on medical grounds."

That sounded ominous to Alphonse. "Didn't Brother take care of her?"

Roy's lips twitched. "Yes, in a manner of speaking, he did."

More ominous. Alphonse frowned. he didn't like how Roy said that. But he dismissed it for the moment, because right that second, it didn't matter. What mattered was that this new man was now family, and more importantly, his brother was not there. He wished he could understand it. Why would his brother spend so much time trying to get him back only to run away before Alphonse could see him? Even just once?

Sigh.

"Mom?" His mother looked back at him. "Are you sure Brother never told you why he was leaving?"

Mom looked uncertain, then looked at Roy, who stepped over and shut the door. Mom lowered her voice. "Central was partly destroyed when Edward made the Stone to get you back," she said. "I'm sure his guilt is what sent him running. You know how he is about guilt."

It took him a moment to decide how to react to that. At the same time, Alphonse both could and couldn't see his brother even doing that. Those were innocent people! But he also knew that if positions were reversed, he'd do the same. And he was certain there was more to it than just getting him back, his brother was too good for that kind of thing without lots of good reasons, no matter how bad things got for him.

Finally settling on a neutral reaction, he looked at her. "He needs to come home."

"I know, dear," she said. "And he will. We'll find him."

They had to.


End file.
